Bluetooth fork, toothbrush debut at CES

LAS VEGAS – Two wireless devices getting attention at the International CES this week are centered around helping with that most basic human function – eating.

First, the $99 HAPIfork from Hong Kong’s HAPILABS is supposed to help people slow down while they chow down instead of inhaling their food.

You know, just like your mother used to keep yelling at you for eating too fast.

The fork has a sensor that monitors the rate that you bring food into your mouth, and if you’re going too fast, it will gently vibrate. It’s set for 10-second intervals, but you can change it suit your tastes.

The Bluetooth fork also constantly sends the data to a mobile phone app so you can chart your eating habits over time.

“What is important is you take enough time to chew the food well,” said Fabrice Boutain, HAPILABS CEO and founder. “By chewing well, you will help the digestion. There was a study in the United States in 2006 showing that people eating more slowly will eat 11 percent less calories. So this is how we can help us lose weight.”

The fork comes with “a coaching program and also a social and family game so people can enjoy and learn how to eat more slowly together,” he said.

Boutain, a former French pole vaulter who still looked fit and trim, conceeded the expensive fork was not for everyone.

“Right now, it’s really to help people who want to change their habits, who want to take control of their health,” he said. “It’s one more tool to help people take control.”

The company plans to raise funds through a Kickstarter campaign in February and have the HAPIfork in eaters hands during the second quarter of 2013.

Then, after you’re done eating, you have to brush your teeth. That’s when a Bluetooth toothbrush from Beam Technologies of Louisville, Ken., could come in handy.

Beam toothbrush

The $49.99 Beam also uses a sensor that records when and how long you brush, beaming that data to a website and an iPhone or Android app so you can keep track of how well you’re keeping up your dental hygiene habits.

You know, like when your mother used to yell at you for not brushing your teeth.

Beam CEO Alex Frommeyer said people are supposed to brush two minutes a day twice a day.

“Very few people do,” he said. “The average person does less than a minute once a day.”

The startup saw a market for digital dental products to help people meet that goal. Also, Frommeyer believes dental insurance companies may like the idea of gamifying brushing teeth as part of an overall program to reduce dental health care premiums.

Frommeyer said the company recently began field trials with two big dental health firms, Humana and Delta Dental.

For now, Beam is only available through the company website, http:\\www.beamtoothbrush.com.